Current Affairs Update – 1st August, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs for 1st August, 2016. These are important for the upcoming RBI Grade B Phase I Exam 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 1st August, 2016

India’s biggest private lender ICICI Bank Ltd
and private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC said on Monday they would set up an asset reconstruction
company in India to buy into troubled loans held by banks.

Software major, Microsoft
on Monday announced that Anant Maheshwari will
take over the operations of the company from Bhaskar Pramanik. Pramanik who is
currently the chairman, Microsoft India will retire in March 2017.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on 1 August 2016 unanimously passed a
resolution to rename the Madras High Court as the Tamil Nadu High Court.

The Andhra Pradesh government on 30 July 2016 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Japan to develop a food value chain in the state.

Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT), Govt of India has given Dilip Rath, an additional charge of
Chairmanship of National Dairy Development Board till the regular appointment.

Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on 30 July 2016.

Former Japanese Defence Minister Yuriko Koike on 31 July 2016 was elected as the first woman governor of Tokyo,
the capital city of Japan.

Luke Aikins, a skydiver with
18000 jumps, on 30 July 2016 jumped from 25000 feet (7620 meters) without
a parachute or a wingsuit.

International Kabaddi Federation
on 31 July 2016 selected India to host The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. The
World Cup featuring 12 countries is scheduled to be held in October 2016, the
dates for the event will be announced later.

Finance/Industry/Banking –

ICICI Bank, Apollo to set up Indian asset reconstruction company

India’s biggest private lender
ICICI Bank Ltd and private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC said on
Monday they would set up an asset reconstruction company in India to buy into
troubled loans held by banks.

AION Capital Management, a joint
venture between units of the two financial firms, will be a third partner in
the new entity, which has yet to obtain regulatory approvals, the companies
said in a joint statement.

No monetary values were
disclosed, and the new asset reconstruction company will also look at buying
equity stakes in companies.

Global distressed asset buyers
such as J.C. Flowers & Co and Apollo Global are flocking to India, where
banks have been ordered to clean up an estimated $120 billion of bad and
troubled loans.

Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Japan to develop food value chain

The Andhra Pradesh government on
30 July 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan to develop a
food value chain in the state.

Under the MoU, Japan’s Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) will encourage direct investments
by Japanese companies in the fields of agriculture and food-related industry in
Andhra Pradesh.

Along with developing a food
value chain, it will also establish food industrial parks and develop cold
chains.

India –

Railway Minister flags off maiden broad-gauge train service between
Agartala and Delhi

The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’
will run weekly between Agartala and Anand Vihar in Delhi. It will have
commercial stoppages at 16 stations and cover a distance of 2461 kms in 46
hours and 50 minutes.

The train will reach Delhi via
Guwahati and New Jappaiguri. The rail link was developed at an expense of 968
crore rupees.

Apart from this, Prabhu along
with Bangladesh Railway Minister Md. Mazibul Hoque also laid the foundation
stone for Agartala-Akhaura International Rail Project. This train link would be
part of the trans-Asian rail connectivity.

The rail track here would be
extended to Sabroom, the southern-most town in Tripura, which is only 75 km
from the Chittagong port in Bangladesh.

Resolution to rename Madras HC as Tamil Nadu HC passed

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on 1
August 2016 unanimously passed a resolution to rename the Madras High Court as
the Tamil Nadu High Court. The resolution on the matter was moved by Chief
Minister J Jayalalitha as most of the High Courts established after the
formation of new states based on linguistic lines have been named after the
states only.

The resolution was presented in
light of the High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016, which was introduced
in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016.

She said the Madras High Court
has jurisdiction over the entire state and therefore it is necessary to change
the name as the Tamil Nadu High Court.

Appointments –

Microsoft appoints Anant Maheshwari as India head

Software major, Microsoft on
Monday announced that Anant Maheshwari will take over the operations of the
company from Bhaskar Pramanik. Pramanik who is currently the chairman,
Microsoft India will retire in March 2017.

Maheshwari will join Microsoft on
September 1 as president, Microsoft India and will take over from January next
year.

Currently, he is president at
Honeywell India. He was appointed the president of Honeywell India in January
2014, after serving various roles in the company for 10 years.

Until recently, Kedar was
Vice-President, Global Generics Finance, and Head of Investor Relations in Dr
Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla said in a statement.

Prior to Dr Reddy’s, he has
worked with Pepsi India and Thermax Group, it added.

Dilip Rath takes over as Chairman NDDB

After the former IAS officer T
Nanda Kumar abruptly resigned from the chairmanship of National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB), the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Govt
of India has given Dilip Rath, Managing Director of the Dairy Board an
additional charge of Chairmanship till the regular appointment.

Rath was closely involved in
project conceptualization and formulation of NDP. As the Mission Director of
NDP, he is actively pursuing the project objectives, an NDDB statement said
here.

Rath brings with him a wide
experience in dairy development and cooperatives. He was instrumental in implementing
various schemes of the Central Government, viz., National Project on Cattle and
Buffalo Breeding, Intensive Dairy Development Programme, Clean Milk Production,
Assistance to Cooperatives, besides being the divisional head of 12 cattle
development organizations under Central Government.

Justice DB Bhosale sworn-in as Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court

Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale
was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on 30 July 2016.
His oath of the office was administered by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik.

The post had been vacant since
May 2016 after Justice Bhosale’s predecessor, Justice DY Chandrachud, was
elevated to the Supreme Court. He retired on 23 October 2018.

Tokyo elects Yuriko Koike as first female governor

Former Japanese Defence Minister
Yuriko Koike on 31 July 2016 was elected as the first woman governor of Tokyo,
the capital city of Japan.

Koike garnered more than 2.9
million votes in the election, defeating her opponents, Hiroya Masuda and
Shuntaro Torigoe, by a wide margin.

World –

Luke Aikins became first person to jump from 25000 feet without a
parachute or wing suit

Luke Aikins, a skydiver with
18000 jumps, on 30 July 2016 jumped from 25000 feet (7620 meters) without a
parachute or a wingsuit.

With this he became the first man
in the world history to dive from mid-tropospheric altitude and land safely
without a parachute or a wing suit or anything else that might helped him stop
or slow his descent.

42-year-old, Aikins, completed
the stunt without mishap, landing almost in the middle of the 100ft by 100ft
(30.5-by-30.5-meter) net.

Sports –

India to host Kabaddi World Cup in October 2016

International Kabaddi Federation
on 31 July 2016 selected India to host The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. The World
Cup featuring 12 countries is scheduled to be held in October 2016, the dates
for the event will be announced later.

Kabaddi became a part of Asian
Games in the year 1990 and India has won all the gold medals since.

Mohun Bagan Ratna conferred on Syed Nayeemuddin

Mohun Bagan Football Club on 29
July 2016 conferred the Mohun Bagan Ratna on Syed Nayeemuddin, India’s only
Dronacharya football coach.

Nayeemuddin was chosen for the
prestigious award for his overall contribution to the club and the country both
as a player and as a coach.

The former India captain became
the 16th recipient of the prestigious award.

Books & Authors –

India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears authored by Ravi Velloor

A book titled India Rising: Fresh
Hope, New Fears by Ravi Velloor chronicles India’s journey in the decade before
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rise. The book was released in April 2016 by
Singapore Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong.

The book captures the significant
events of the years under former India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
examines how the country dealt with those issues.

Ravi Velloor is an associate
editor of Singapore newspaper The Straits Times.